Nanomotion technology in combination with machine learning: a new approach for a rapid antibiotic susceptibility test for Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Nanomotion technology is a growth-independent approach that can be used to detect and record the vibrations of bacteria attached to cantilevers. We have developed a nanomotion-based antibiotic susceptibility test (AST) protocol for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). The protocol was used to predict strain phenotype towards isoniazid (INH) and rifampicin (RIF) using a leave-one-out cross-validation (LOOCV) and machine learning techniques. This MTB-nanomotion protocol takes 21 h, including cell suspension preparation, optimized bacterial attachment to functionalized cantilever, and nanomotion recording before and after antibiotic exposure. We applied this protocol to MTB isolates (n = 40) and were able to discriminate between susceptible and resistant strains for INH and RIF with a maximum sensitivity of 97.4% and 100%, respectively, and a maximum specificity of 100% for both antibiotics when considering each nanomotion recording to be a distinct experiment. Grouping recordings as triplicates based on source isolate improved sensitivity and specificity to 100% for both antibiotics. Nanomotion technology can potentially reduce time-to-result significantly compared to the days and weeks currently needed for current phenotypic ASTs for MTB. It can further be extended to other anti-TB drugs to help guide more effective TB treatment

СОВРЕМЕННАЯ СТРУКТУРА КОМПЛЕКСА ЧУЖЕРОДНЫХ ВИДОВ СОСУЩИХ ЧЛЕНИСТОНОГИХ-ФИТОФАГОВ ФАУНЫ БЕЛАРУСИ

At present, the complex of alien species of sucking phythophagous arthropods in the fauna of Belarus includes 61 species of insects and mates from 35 genera, 12 families and 4 orders. The majority of them have the European (19 species) origin, and а smaller number is due to the Mediterranean (12), North American (11) origin. Seven invasive species are cryptogenic.К настоящему времени комплекс чужеродных видов сосущих членистоногих-фитофагов фауны Беларуси включает 61 вид насекомых и клещей из 35 родов, 12 семейств и 4 отрядов. Установлены основные регионы-доноры инвазивных видов сосущих членистоногих-фитофагов, которыми являются страны Южной, Западной и Северной Европы (19), меньшее число происходит из Средиземноморья (12), Северной Америки (11) и Центральной Азии (7); дальневосточное происхождение имеет лишь 2 вида инвайдеров. К числу криптогенных отнесено 7 видов сосущих насекомых и клещей, чужеродных для фауны Беларуси

СЕПТОРИОЗЫ ЗЕРНОВЫХ КУЛЬТУР И ИХ ВРЕДОНОСНОСТЬ

Nowadays septoria has become widespread in many countries of the world, including in the Republic of Belarus, in winter and spring wheat crops and winter triticale. Septoria of cereal crops is caused by several types of pathogens: on leaves in the crops of studied cultures this disease is caused mainly by fungus Septoria tritici Desm., and since paniculation phase – Stagonospora nodorum (Berk.) E. Castell. & Germano. Development of leaves septoria depends on hydrothermal conditions of growing season and varietal characteristics. Analysis of cereal crops damage by septoria over the last 20 years indicates significant changes in phytopathological state of crops. For instance, in winter and spring wheat crops, the development of a complex of diseases of the leaf apparatus, with the dominance of septoria, reached its maximum in the vegetation seasons of 2006–2010 compared with those of other five-year periods, when the average index of disease development reached 34.3 % with deviations from 22.4 to 55.9 % and 40.9 % with fluctuations from 31.0 to 75.1 %, respectively. In recent years (2011–2015), the development of the disease in the crops of these crops has decreased to 15.7 % (4.3–40.5 %) and 32.2 % (0.2–73.0 %). There was a higher damage degree of leaves with a complex of diseases in winter triticale crop (38.8 %) was recorded in conditions of 2001–2005 at fluctuation of this indicator within the range of 14.9–72.5 %, whereas in 1996–2000 (the lowest development) on average 11.3 % with deviations from 1.6 to 20.0 %. There is a tendency to damage degree reduction in winter wheat septoria development from 36.7 % (2001–2005) to 19.7 % (2011–2015), in winter triticale on the contrary, growth in these periods from 26.3 to 36.3 %. Head of spring wheat was more intensively damaged by septoria during all the years of observations – 34.8 % in 2001–2005, 62.3 % in 2006–2010, and 44.7 % in 2011–2015.В настоящее время во многих странах мира, в том числе и в Республике Беларусь, в посевах озимой и яровой пшеницы, озимого тритикале получил широкое распространение септориоз. Септориоз зерновых культур вызывается несколькими видами возбудителей: на листьях в посевах изучаемых культур болезнь вызывает в основном гриб Septoria tritici Desm., а начиная с фазы колошения – Stagonospora nodorum (Berk.) E. Castell. & Germano. Развитие септориоза листьев зависит от гидротермических условий вегетационного сезона и сортовых особенностей. Анализ поражаемости зерновых культур септориозом за последние 20 лет свидетельствует о существенных изменениях в формировании фитопатологического состояния посевов. Например, в посевах озимой и яровой пшеницы развитие комплекса болезней листового аппарата, при доминировании септориоза, достигало максимума в вегетационные сезоны 2006–2010 гг. по сравнению с таковыми других пятилеток, когда средний индекс развития болезней достигал 34,3 % с отклонениями от 22,4 до 55,9 % и 40,9 % с колебаниями от 31,0 до 75,1 % соответственно. В последние годы (2011–2015 гг.) развитие болезни в посевах этих культур понизилось до 15,7 % (4,3–40,5 %) и 32,2 % (0,2–73,0 %). В посевах озимого тритикале более высокая степень поражения листьев комплексом болезней (38,8 %) отмечалась в условиях 2001–2005 гг. при колебании этого показателя в пределах 14,9–72,5 %, тогда как в 1996–2000 гг. (самое низкое развитие) в среднем 11,3 % с отклонениями от 1,6 до 20,0 %. В развитии септориоза колоса озимой пшеницы наблюдается тенденция снижения степени поражения с 36,7 % (2001–2005 гг.) до 19,7 % (2011–2015 гг.), озимого тритикале, наоборот, роста в эти периоды от 26,3 до 36,3 %. Колос яровой пшеницы интенсивнее поражался во все годы наблюдений септориозом: в 2001–2005 гг. – 34,8 %, 2006– 2010 гг. – 62,3 %, 2011–2015 гг. – 44,7 %.

Use of near-infrared light to reduce symptoms associated with restless legs syndrome in a woman: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>We describe a potential new treatment option for patients suffering from restless legs syndrome. Contemporary treatment for restless legs syndrome consists mostly of dopaminergic drugs that leave some patients feeling nauseated and dizzy. A non-invasive, drug-free option would open new doors for patients suffering from restless legs syndrome.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 69-year-old Caucasian woman met International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group criteria for the diagnosis of restless legs syndrome. She had been afflicted with restless legs syndrome for over 30 years and tried many of the available pharmaceutical remedies without success. For this study she received 30-minute treatment sessions with near-infrared light, three times a week for four weeks. The restless legs syndrome rating scale was used to track symptom changes; at baseline she scored "27" on the 0 to 40 point scale, which is considered to be "severe". Our patient was almost symptom free at week two, indicated by a score of "2" on the rating scale. By week four she was completely symptom free. The symptoms slowly returned during week three post treatment.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The findings suggest that near-infrared light may be a feasible method for treating patients suffering from restless legs syndrome. Undesirable side-effects from medication are non-existent. This study might revive the neglected vascular mechanism theory behind restless legs syndrome and encourage further research into this area.</p

Repeated PTZ Treatment at 25-Day Intervals Leads to a Highly Efficient Accumulation of Doublecortin in the Dorsal Hippocampus of Rats

BACKGROUND: Neurogenesis persists throughout life in the adult mammalian brain. Because neurogenesis can only be assessed in postmortem tissue, its functional significance remains undetermined, and identifying an in vivo correlate of neurogenesis has become an important goal. By studying pentylenetetrazole-induced brain stimulation in a rat model of kindling we accidentally discovered that 25±1 days periodic stimulation of Sprague-Dawley rats led to a highly efficient increase in seizure susceptibility. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: By EEG, RT-PCR, western blotting and immunohistochemistry, we show that repeated convulsive seizures with a periodicity of 25±1 days led to an enrichment of newly generated neurons, that were BrdU-positive in the dentate gyrus at day 25±1 post-seizure. At the same time, there was a massive increase in the number of neurons expressing the migratory marker, doublecortin, at the boundary between the granule cell layer and the polymorphic layer in the dorsal hippocampus. Some of these migrating neurons were also positive for NeuN, a marker for adult neurons. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results suggest that the increased susceptibility to seizure at day 25±1 post-treatment is coincident with a critical time required for newborn neurons to differentiate and integrate into the existing hippocampal network, and outlines the importance of the dorsal hippocampus for seizure-related neurogenesis. This model can be used as an in vivo correlate of neurogenesis to study basic questions related to neurogenesis and to the neurogenic mechanisms that contribute to the development of epilepsy

Attenuated Inflammatory Response in Aged Mice Brains following Stroke

Background: Increased age is a major risk factor for stroke incidence, post-ischemic mortality, and severe and long-term disability. Stroke outcome is considerably influenced by post-ischemic mechanisms. We hypothesized that the inflammatory response following an ischemic injury is altered in aged organisms. Methods and Results: To that end, we analyzed the expression pattern of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF, IL-1a, IL-1b, IL-6), anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10, TGFb1), and chemokines (Mip-1a, MCP-1, RANTES) of adult (2 months) and aged (24 months) mice brains at different reperfusion times (6 h, 12 h, 24 h, 2 d, 7 d) following transient occlusion of the middle cerebral artery. The infarct size was assessed to monitor possible consequences of an altered inflammatory response in aged mice. Our data revealed an increased neuro-inflammation with age. Above all, we found profound age-related alterations in the reaction to stroke. The response of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF, and IL-1b) and the level of chemokines (Mip-1a, and MCP-1) were strongly diminished in the aged post-ischemic brain tissue. IL-6 showed the strongest age-dependent decrease in its post-ischemic expression profile. Anti-inflammatory cytokines (TGFb1, and IL-10) revealed no significant age dependency after ischemia. Aged mice brains tend to develop smaller infarcts. Conclusion: The attenuated inflammatory response to stroke in aged animals may contribute to their smaller infarcts. The results presented here highlight the importance of using aged animals to investigate age-associated diseases like stroke

Arginine Metabolism by Macrophages Promotes Cardiac and Muscle Fibrosis in mdx Muscular Dystrophy

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the most common, lethal disease of childhood. One of 3500 new-born males suffers from this universally-lethal disease. Other than the use of corticosteroids, little is available to affect the relentless progress of the disease, leading many families to use dietary supplements in hopes of reducing the progression or severity of muscle wasting. Arginine is commonly used as a dietary supplement and its use has been reported to have beneficial effects following short-term administration to mdx mice, a genetic model of DMD. However, the long-term effects of arginine supplementation are unknown. This lack of knowledge about the long-term effects of increased arginine metabolism is important because elevated arginine metabolism can increase tissue fibrosis, and increased fibrosis of skeletal muscles and the heart is an important and potentially life-threatening feature of DMD.We use both genetic and nutritional manipulations to test whether changes in arginase metabolism promote fibrosis and increase pathology in mdx mice. Our findings show that fibrotic lesions in mdx muscle are enriched with arginase-2-expressing macrophages and that muscle macrophages stimulated with cytokines that activate the M2 phenotype show elevated arginase activity and expression. We generated a line of arginase-2-null mutant mdx mice and found that the mutation reduced fibrosis in muscles of 18-month-old mdx mice, and reduced kyphosis that is attributable to muscle fibrosis. We also observed that dietary supplementation with arginine for 17-months increased mdx muscle fibrosis. In contrast, arginine-2 mutation did not reduce cardiac fibrosis or affect cardiac function assessed by echocardiography, although 17-months of dietary supplementation with arginine increased cardiac fibrosis. Long-term arginine treatments did not decrease matrix metalloproteinase-2 or -9 or increase the expression of utrophin, which have been reported as beneficial effects of short-term treatments.Our findings demonstrate that arginine metabolism by arginase promotes fibrosis of muscle in muscular dystrophy and contributes to kyphosis. Our findings also show that long-term, dietary supplementation with arginine exacerbates fibrosis of dystrophic heart and muscles. Thus, commonly-practiced dietary supplementation with arginine by DMD patients has potential risk for increasing pathology when performed for long periods, despite reports of benefits acquired with short-term supplementation